No Longer Shouldering the Pain
Rosangela gets relief from Stem Cell Therapy at Ageless Wellness
By Ellie White-Stevens
For a year, Rosangela Odom had suffered pain in her right shoulder. The problem: an abraded labrum. The tendon was partially torn, and as an aesthetician at Brazilian Body Wax by Catherine in Peachtree City, the injury was really affecting Rosangela’s ability to do her job.
“I need to work with my hands,” says Rosangela, age 52. “I enjoy going to the gym and working out. But this pain was making me crazy. I couldn’t sleep well. I was treated with a cortisone shot, and it was good for maybe two weeks, but then the pain would be back. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
To seek relief, Rosangela went to see an orthopedist, who recommended surgery — with a 12-week recovery period. That simply wasn’t an option.
“I couldn’t afford to stay out of work that long,” Rosangela says.
One of Rosangela’s clients was also a patient at Ageless Wellness Center in Peachtree City, where Dr. Jamie Walraven specializes in treating inflammation, degenerative and autoimmune diseases without the use of surgery, utilizing stem cell therapy. The client recommended Rosangela consider stem cell therapy at Ageless Wellness. That’s when her husband, Bill, stepped in.
“I called Ageless Wellness and spoke with Nurse Practitioner Linda Faulkner,” Bill says. “We spoke for about 45 minutes and she told me what the procedure would be, how they did what they did, and what the follow up would be for her if they did the stem cell treatment.”
Stem cells are baby cells that can turn into any tissue in the body, including cartilage and bone, as well as muscle and nerves. Ageless Wellness uses adipocyte-derived stem cells harvested through a mini-liposuction from a patient’s own fat. Through a series of processing, the stem cells and growth factors are isolated, concentrated and then re-injected into the patient. The entire process, from start to finish, takes approximately four hours.
“We went in on a Wednesday in November 2017. We watched as they performed the procedure to harvest the stem cells, then went to lunch and came back,” Bill explains. “They put her on an IV and gave her the stem cells back into her body. They also injected her right shoulder joint directly with the stem cells to promote healing in that area.”
The results were almost immediate. Rosangela reported feeling no pain in her shoulder starting the very next day, effectively trading surgery and a 12-week recovery process for a one-day out-patient procedure.
“I refer a lot of clients to Ageless Wellness now, for sure. They are wonderful, so nice and patient with me. I recommend that everybody try stem cells first before surgery, because it really works.” – – Rosangela
“The next day I woke up and I had no pain, and my husband said, ‘Really?’” Rosangela says.
She has since gone back to Ageless Wellness every three months to receive injections of platelet rich plasma, or PRP, another powerful growth factor, and has also taken advantage of Botox treatment and hormone replacement therapy.
“I refer a lot of clients to Ageless Wellness now, for sure,” Rosangela says. “They are wonderful, so nice and patient with me. I recommend that everybody try stem cells first before surgery, because it really works.”
Rosangela isn’t the only member of the family taking advantage of the services offered by Ageless Wellness. Bill, 65 and retired, receives testosterone pellet treatments and is considering stem cell therapy as well.
“I was in a motorcycle accident eight years ago and still have residual pain from that,” Bill says. “It’s important that I keep my body in shape, so I want to have some stem cell treatments to rebuild some of the damaged tendons and muscles. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Ageless Wellness Center is located at 1000 Commerce Drive, Suite 300, Peachtree City. For more information or to make an appointment with Dr. Jamie Walraven or Nurse Practitioner Linda Faulkner, call 678-364-8414.